Immigrant neighbors face detention fears
Sonoma County people know our immigrant neighbors are being threatened with detention and possible deportation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), sometimes even separating families, so some immigrants avoid necessary public appearances like probation hearings or trips to the store out of fear of being detained or worse. Our neighbors have to live in fear and a great many object to this.
Churches and nonprofits join hunger strike
10 churches, several nonprofits and more than 300 individuals joined in solidarity with the Sonoma County Sanctuary Coalition Hunger Strike, demanding the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors pass an ordinance forbidding government officials to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
The churches included Christ Church United Methodist, Santa Rosa; Unitarian Universalist churches in Petaluma and Santa Rosa; Community Church of Sebastopol; and Congregation Ner Shalom, Cotati.
Day and night, the hunger strikers stayed in a makeshift camp in front of the Board of Supervisors office, drinking donated liquids but no food. Spirits seemed high, but a sign asked that the strikers not be interviewed. Spokespeople from the churches were in attendance daily.
Debate over an ordinance and next steps
A question lingered: Would the strike continue if the board didn’t put the ordinance on its agenda for consideration?
Board of Supervisors Chair Lynda Hopkins talked with the strikers and later expressed doubt the ordinance, if enacted, could protect immigrants from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She said the board had spent $500,000 on immigrant support services to date.
A resolution is in place that limits county cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, restricting local agencies, including law enforcement, from sharing information about an immigrant’s status with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unless required by law.
While hunger strikers, who had no food for a week, sat outside the board office, many people made passionate public comments inside in support of our neighbors (video not yet available). One man, who had served as a guard for the strikers, said he had served his county 27 years and was now appalled at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its treatment of immigrants. Another said we may be afraid of becoming a target by speaking out, but Sonoma County is already a target for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A third cried through his entire time at the microphone.
In response, Board of Supervisors Chair Lynda Hopkins told a very personal story of family violence and her experience of fear and needing shelter as a child. Her passion for creating a more protective environment for immigrants was clear, and she announced creation of an ad hoc committee beginning Monday with Board Vice Chair Rebecca Hermosilio and others, pledging to seek further methods of protection.
We know our county benefits in a great many ways from our immigrant population — we are a nation of immigrants, after all; the only natives are the Native Americans who lived here centuries before us. When immigrants become citizens, we benefit from their work in agriculture and as caregivers, among many other contributions.
How to help: Rapid Response Network’s ‘Adopt a Corner’
How can we help our threatened neighbors? While the Board of Supervisors seeks more options, we can support the Rapid Response Network, a nationwide program with an Adopt a Corner project. Showing up where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may be near — in Petaluma, Rapid Response serves the corner of East Washington and Howard, the day-labor hangout — the Rapid Response team puts up a table Fridays, 7:30 to 9 a.m., and intends to expand its presence. Supporters and legal observers can be notified quickly and can show up fast. For further information on the Rapid Response Network in our area, contact the North Bay Rapid Response Network 24-hour hotline at 707-800-4544.